"Take this seriously. There will be flooding," Key West
spokesman Michael Haskins told local radio.

Howling hurricane winds tore off roofs and uprooted trees for a
third day across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Thousands of tourists
spent another night in sweltering shelters with no light or running
water.

The long spit of white sand that draws planeloads of sun seekers
to Cancun was under water. Luxury hotels were flooded up to knee
level and littered with debris after the normally tranquil sea off
Quintana Roo state roared inland.

As the rains and winds eased slightly on Saturday, tourists and
locals ventured out in search of food and water. Some took
advantage of the chaos to loot.

Dozens waded out of smashed stores clasping plasma TVs, fridges
and bundles of clothes. Police fired shots into the water to try to
scatter them.

Rescue workers paddled to flooded neighbourhoods and plucked
families from houses where the water was chest high.

In one area, residents had spent a terrifying night, afraid that
crocodiles from a nearby swamp would swim in with the water.

Wilma was downgraded to a category 2 hurricane yesterday, but
winds were still 160 km/h with higher gusts.

The Yucatan Peninsula, famous for its turquoise seas, white sand
and Mayan ruins, has been lashed by Wilma since Thursday.

The island of Cozumel, popular with scuba divers, took the brunt
of the storm on Friday. Many locals remained in shelters on
Saturday, with winds still raging, power still out and no boat
services.

There were reports of two deaths on Cozumel. One person also
died in Cancun, two were killed in the resort town of Playa del
Carmen, further south, when a gas tank exploded, and a man was
killed in Yucatan state when a tree branch crushed him.

Mexico is accustomed to hurricanes, but Wilma is one of the
biggest and slowest-moving in years, dumping intense rain. It is
also unusually big, with a diameter of 800 kilometres.

Mudslides caused by Wilma killed 10 people in Haiti last week
and Cuba was hit by drenching rains and tornadoes.

■ Four Sydney NRL players and two mates are stuck in an
underground car park in Cancun. The roof of the cinema in the beach
resort city, where the men had been sheltering, was blown off
overnight and they were moved to the car park.

Saved: Mexican marines rescue a woman from flooded homes in Cancun. Floods caused by hurricane Wilma have submerged most of the popular holiday resort.

430294New York Timeshttp://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/10/22/th_wilma_2310_mobile__240x160.jpg

Hurricane Wilma

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